A surfing tribute to the 2015/2016 El Niño season

Brian Milne spent the 2015/2016 El Niño season collecting footage from multiple surf spots. The result is "The El Niño Effect, a California Surf Film."

In the winter 2015/2016, the El Niño storms slammed the West Coast of USA. As a result, the Pacific Ocean became, once again, a joyful playground for local surfers.

Independent surf film director Brian Milne got the idea for "The El Niño Effect" after suffering a labral tear in his shoulder while surfing one of biggest swells on the Central Coast late last year.

Sidelined for the next few months, Milne had nothing better to do on the weekends than sitting on the beach and film what turned out to be the best surf he has seen in almost 40 years in California.

"The film is not a 'traditional' big-wave surf documentary dominated by World Surf League pros. It's an independent, sponsor-free film documenting 'average Joes' making most of El Niño's powerful swells at everyday surf spots," explains Brian Milne.

"And the film not only highlights epic waves ridden by shortboarders, but also depicts surfers on longboards, stand-up paddle boards, kiteboards, bodyboards, rafts and even kayaks."

Milne, an author of two California outdoors guidebooks, notes that he didn't name any of the spots filmed out of respect for the local surfers and the hometown breaks they frequent.

In fact, the only surfers or sports named in the film came during the highly-publicized Titans of Mavericks big wave surf contest, which Milne shot from the water on February 12th, 2016.

"The El Niño Effect, a California Surf Film" also features original music from local, up-and-coming bands from California, and is free to watch. Fortunately, there are still people like Brian Milne in the surfing world. They're the ones who truly spread the stoke.